Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1887-09-30

suggest is that the water of the lake had
sufficient air in it to keep the atmosphere
of the tunnel from absolute stagnation,
this air being given out as it proceeded on
its headlong way. OF course I only give
this solution of the mystery for what it IS
worth, which, perhaps, is not much.
When had been for three hours or so at
the wheel, | began to notice a decided
change in the temperature, which was get
ting warmer. At first l took no notice of
it: but when. at the expiration Of another
half-hour, l found that it was getting hot
ter and hotter, | called to Sir Henry and
asked him if he noticed 1t, or If it was only
naturalization. Notice it, " he answered.
II should think sol am in sort Of Turk
ish bath" Just about then the others
woke up gasping, and were Obliged to be-
gin to discard their clothes. Here I'm
slopOgaas had the advantage, for he did
not wear any to speak Of except a mocha.
Hotter it grew, and hotter yet, till at
last we could scarcely breathe, and the
perspiratiOn poured out Of us. Half an
hour more, and though we were all now
stark naked, we could hardly bear it. The
place was like an antechamber of the in
fernal regions proper. dipped my hand
into the water, and drew it out almost
with a cry: it was nearly boiling We con-
suited little thermometer we had-the
mercury stood at 123. From the surface
Of the water rose a dense cloud of steam.
AlphOnse groaned out that we were already
in purgatUry; which indeed we were,
though not in the sense that he meant it.
Sir Henry suggested that we must be pass
iug near the seat Of some underground
volcanic fire, and am inclined to think,
especially in tie light Of what subsequent
Iy occurred that he was right Our suf-
ferings for some time after this really pass
my powers Of description. We no longer
perSpirrd, for all the perspiratiOn had been
swcafcd out OF us We simply lay in the
bottom Of the boat which we were now
physically incapable of directing, feeling
Ike hot embcrs, and, fancy, undergoing
very much the same sensation that the
poor Fl 81 do when they are dying on land;
namely, that Of slow sufTOcatiOn. Our
skins began TO crack, and the blood to
thrpb in our head; like the beating of q
sIran-"n-iuc.
This had - II gOia.s on for some time,
when I'll !puly the river turned Il little,
aud heard sir Henry call out from the
bow in a hOarse startled vOlco. ana io51ing
up, / saw most wonderful and awful
tHiHg. About half mile ahead of us, and
Il little Othp left of the CentcrUf the stream
which we could now see was about ninety
feet broad-a huge pillar-likc jet of almost
whit" flame rose from the surface of the
water and sprang fifty feet into the air,
when it struck the roof and spread out
some forty feet in diameter, falling back
in curved sheets of fire shaped like the
petals of n full-blOwn rose. Indeed, this
awful gas jet reSembled nothing SO much
rs a great flaming flower rising out of the
black water. Below WAS the straight stalk,
n foot or more thick, and above the dread
full bloom. And as for the fcarfulncSs Of
il, aud its fierce and awSOmc beauty, who
can describe it, Certainly | cannot. Al
though we were now some five hundred
yards away, it, notwithstanding the steam,
1t NJ the whole cavern as clear as day. and
we could see that the roo was mere ABOUT
forty feet above us and washed perfectly
smooth with water. The rock was black,
and hero and there ! could make out long
shining lines uf ore running through it like
great veins but OF what metal they were |
know not
On we rushed toward this pillar of fire,
which cleaned tierccr than any furnace
ever lit by man
keep the boat to the right, Quarter
main-tO the right" shouted Sir Henry;
and a minute aftcrward saw him fall for
ward scnscless. AlphOnSc had already
gone. Good was the next to go There
they lay as though dead; only Umslopogaas
and kept our senses. We were within
fifty yards of il now, and saw the Zulu's
head fall forward on his hands. He had
gone, too, and ] was alone. | could not
breathe, the fierce heat dried me up. For
yards and yards round the great rose of
fire the rock roof was red hot. The wood
of the boat was almost burning | saw the
feathers on one of the dead swans begin to
twist and shriycl up; but would not give
in. knew that if | did we should pass
within three or four yards of the gas-jet
and perish miserably. set the paddle so
rs to turn the canoe as far from it IA pos
sihle, and held on grimly.
My eyes seemed to be bursting from my
head, and through my closed lids | could
see the fierce light. We were nearly OPP
posite now; IT roared like all the fires of
hell, and the water boiled furiously around
ii. Five seconds more; we were past; /
heard the roar behind me
Then |. too. fell scnsclcss The next
thing that | remember was frclinga breath
Of mir upon my face. My eyes opened with
great difficulty. | looked up. Far far
above me there was light, though around
me was deep gloom. Then | remembered
and looked The canoe still floatcd down
the river, and in the bottom OF it lay the
naked forms of my companions. Were
they dcad?' | wondered. WAS [ left
alone in this awful place." | knew not
Next | became conscious of a burning
thirst. put my hand overthe edge of the
boat into Tie water and drew it up again
with cry. No wonder, nearly all the skin
was burnt of the back of il The water.
however, WAS cold, or nearly 50, and
drank piuts and splashcd myself all over.
My body seemed to suck up the fluid as
one may see u brick wall suck up rain after
Il drought; but where | was burnt the touch
OF II caused intense pain. Then bethought
myself ot the others: and, dragging myself
toward them with difficulty | spriukled
them with water, and to my joy they be-
gan To recover mSlopogaaS first, then
the others. Next they drank. absorbing
water like 50 many sponEos. Then. feeling
chilly queer contrast to our recent SEN
satiunS-we began as best we lid to get
into our clothes. As we did 50, Good point
ed to the port side of the canoe; it was all
hlistercd with heat, and In places actually
charred. Had it been built like cur civil
lied boats, Good said that the rlanks
would have certainly warped and let in
enough water to sink u.s. but fortunately it
was dug out Of the soft, willowy wood of a
single great tree, and had sides nearly
three inches, and n bottom four inches.
thick What that awful flame was we
never discovered; but suppose that there
was at this spot a crack or hole in the bed
Of the river through which "A vast volume
of gas forced its way from it's volcanic
home in the bowels of the earth toward
the upper air. How it first became igr tied,
II is, Of course, impossible to say-proba-
bly,, should think. from some spontaneous
explosion Of mephitic gases
As soon rs we had got some things on
and shaken ourselves together little. we
set to work to make ont where we were
now. | have said that there was light
above, and on examination we found that
It came from the sky. Our rivcr-that
was. Sir Henry said. literal realization
Of the wild vision of the poet:
In KuhlG Khan river ran
Through Csvcrns measurCless to man.
Down 10 Il sunless sea.
Was no longer underground, but was
running on its darkSome way. not now
through "Caverns meaSurelcSs to man."
but between two friShtful cliffs which can
not have been less than two thousand feet
high. So hizS -era sfry- indeed, that
though The Say was above US. where we
were was dense gloorn-nOt darkness in